Wall structure.



Patented Jan. 9, 1917.

M 1Q d;

atto: vw@

F. BALL.

WALL STRUCTURE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. I2. I9I6.

LII 1,5%

`vide a strong,

" onirica. i'

FRANK BALL, or CHICAGO; ILLINOIS.

wenn STRUCTURE.

Specification-of Letters Patent.

Patenten aan; er, iai a.

l Application filed September 12, 1916. Serial No. 119,672.

To all 'whom t may cncer/n:

Be it known that T, FRANK BALL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of y Cook and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Wall Structures, of which the following is a specification. Y'

This invention relates to building 'walls having a tile facing, and its object is to prosimple and cheap tile for' this purpose, together with novel and improved means for ecuring the same in place to form the wall. y

The`invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, and in said drawing, Figure 1 is a vertical section of a fragment of the wall provided with my improved tile facing; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a fragment of one lof the tiles showing the rear face thereof;

Fig.x 3 is a similar view showing the outer face of the tile, and Fig. 4 is a View similar to Fig; 1 showing a slight modification.

Referring specifically to the drawing, the

tile shownat 5 is a rectangular slab of concrete or analogous material havingY its top edge formed tending throughout the entire length of the slab, and having in its bottoml edge-a corresponding groove 7. The width of the ridge and the groove is less than the thickness of the slab, and the depth of the groove is less than the height of the ridge rllhus, when twoY of the slabs are placed'one above the other, with the ridge offthe lower slab seating in the groove of the upper slab, there are left two spaces between the opposite top and bottom edges of the two slabs, one spacebeing in front of the exposed portion of the rige, and the other space being behind the r1 e. llegd with a binder 8 of mortar or other suitable material to give the wall a perfectly smooth face.

The slabs 5 are secured Yby nails 9 to the outside of a wooden or other sheathinglO,

with a sheet of tar paper or other moisture insulating material 11 interposed therebetween. The vnails are driven diagonally through the tile from the front face of the ridge 6, at the base of the latter, before the binder 8 is applied, the ridge at this point having a recess or countersink 12 to receive with a longitudinal ridge 6 ex-l The front space is adapted to be,y

the nail head, with a leather washer 13 under the latter toprevent the slab from cracking when the nail is driven. After the tiles have been nailed in place, the binder 8 is applied, which latter covers the nail heads and gives the wall a perfectly smooth finish.

Fig. 4 shows a slab 5 in all'respects similar to the one just described, and secured in the same manner, with the exception that the groove 7 has the same depth as the height of the ridge 6, so that a butt-joint is made,

and there is no space between theslabs. 'llheJ countersinkll enables the two slabs to be placed closely together in this manner as the nail head is completely housed in the 'countersink. The nail head is also completely covered. In the rst described structure the countersink'is not absolutely necessary, as the nailhead is below the upper tile and covered by the binder. Y

Tn both forms of slabs, the rear face thereof has sunken panels 14 for the relief of expansion or contraction strains in the tar paper 11 and the sheathing 10. Both forms of slabs are alsov provided with an internal metal reinforcement molded into the same` when they are formed. This reinforcement is a piece of wire bent intermediate its ends into a loop or eye 15 and twisted together to form a shank 16, the loop being at one end of the shank. At the other end of the shank the two ends of the wire are/spread to extend divergingly and in opposite directions from the shank, as shown at 17. The reinforcement is so located that the loop or eye 15 lis exposed at the recess 13 so that the nail 9' may-be driven therethrough. The reinforcement therefore also serves as an anchor to assist in holding the slab in place. L

As the slabs are fastened directlyinplace by nails, they can be easily and quickly put up. The slabs can also be applied to walls where the siding has become worn or cracked from any cause, by merely removing the siding and nailing on the slabs. Thus, the slabs need not be made thick and clumsy, but thin and inexpensive, as the tar paper and sheathing give a sufficient backing. The surface design of the slabs may be varied as the fancy dictates.

I claim A wall composed of a tile facing and a sheathing behind the same, the facing being composed `of slabs having top ridges and bottom grooves, the ridge of one slab seating in the groove of the next slab, driven fasteners passingvthrough the slabs into the sheathing from the front faces of the ridges, and a. combined reinforcement and anchor embedded in the slabs and having loops which are exposed at the front faces of the ridges, through which loops the fasteners are driven. 1 0

In testimony whereof I x my signature.

FRANK BALL. 

